The Farm Report: 5/20/13

My apologies for the lack of posts this past week and a half, but I came down with some horrendous cold/fever/upper respiratory thing that has been going around up here. It was beyond miserable, but I appear to be on the mend finally – a day I was starting to think might never come. Anyway, it was an exciting day on the farm, as the Yankees’ affiliates split the day. Much like the big club, Scranton saw some extra baseball, though they came up short. Trenton put together a nice comeback win over Richmond, while Tampa won the rare low-scoring game.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre lost to Columbus 6-5 (10 innings):
The RailRiders scored first, putting together a big third inning. Brennan Boesch drew a walk with two outs. Zoilo Almonte singled and Dan Johnson drew a walk, loading the bases. A single by Josh Bell plated Boesch and Thomas Neal lined a double to left, clearing the bases and giving Scranton a 4-0 lead. A solo homer by Chun-Hsiu Chen put Columbus on the board int he fourth, but Scranton got the run back in the top of the fifth. Almonte and Johnson hit back-to-back singles and a double by Melky Mesa plated Almonte for a 5-1 lead. Unfortunately, the lead would not hold. Matt Carson started the bottom of the seventh with a double and Juan Diaz drew a walk. Omir Santos lined a single to center, plating Carson. A double by Ezequiel Carrera scored Diaz and two runs scored on a Lonnie Chisenhall single, tying the game 5-5. The game stayed tied through nine, sending it into extras. Scranton couldn’t get much going in the top of the tenth, but Columbus wasted little time in the bottom of the inning. Matt LaPorta lined a single to center off Josh Spence. Chisenhall bunted for a single and Chen lined a single to left, plating Lawson and giving the Clippers the 6-5 walk-off win over the RailRiders.

Almonte went 2-4 with two runs scored and a walk. Bell went 2-4 with a run scored, a RBI and a walk. Neal went 2-5 with a double and three RBIs. Chris Bootcheck threw six innings, allowing one run on three hits, three walks and seven Ks. Jim Miller allowed four runs on four hits and a walk in one inning of work. He struck out one. Sam Demel pitched a hitless two innings, striking out four. Josh Spence did not pick up an out, allowing one run on three hits.

Trenton beat Richmond 7-3:
The Flying Squirrels took an early lead on Monday night. Jarrett Parker singled and Joe Panik drew a walk. Javier Herrera flew a single to right, loading the bases. Mark Minicozzi grounded a single to left, plating two runs for Richmond. Another run scored on a force out hit by Ryan Lollis and Trenton trailed 3-0. The Thunder struck back quickly, however. JR Murphy drew a lead off walk and Slade Heathcott singled. Neil Medchill hit into a force out at second, but Ali Castillo drove in Murphy, for Trenton’s first run of the day. A hit by pitch loaded the bases and Ramon Flores drew a walk, which scored Medchill and brought Trenton within one. Murphy singled in the third and scored on a single by Heathcott, tying the game 3-3. Kevin Mahoney singled to start the fourth and stole second. He scored on a single by Murphy and Trenton had a 4-3 lead. Trenton got some breathing room in the sixth, as Flores singled to center. He was out on a force out by Jose Pirela and Tyler Austin singled. The bases loaded on a walk to Kyle Roller and Heathcott grounded a single to center, plating two more runs. Mahoney scored on an error in the seventh, giving Trenton a 7-3 advantage that they would hold onto for the win.

Heathcott went 3-5 with three RBIs. Murphy went 2-3 with three runs scored, a RBI and two walks. Austin went 1-3, while Mahoney went 1-3 with two runs scored. Flores went 1-5 with a RBI and a walk. Mikey O’Brien went seven innings, giving up three runs on four hits, three walks and four Ks. Aaron Dott went 0.2 innings and allowed one hit, striking out one. Danny Burawa threw 1.1 innings, giving up one hit and a walk, while striking out two.

Tampa beat Bradenton 2-1:
Gary Sanchez got things started for the Yankees, singling to left in the top of the second. Ben Gamel hit into a force out at second, and proceeded to steal second and third. A single by Saxon Butler brought Gamel home and Tampa took the lead. Sanchez started the fourth by grounding a double to left. He moved to third on a ground out by Gamel and scored when Carmen Angelini grounded out to short, putting Tampa ahead 2-0. Brandenton got one run back in the bottom of the fourth, as Dan Gamache singled in Gregory Polanco. Tampa had a chance to break the game open in the seventh, when Butler was hit by a pitch with one out and Dan Fiorito followed with a single, but they were unable to capitalize. In the end, the Yankees held on for the 2-1 victory.

Angelo Gumbs went 2-4 with a triple. Sanchez went 2-4 with a double and a run scored. Butler went 1-3 with a RBI and Fiorito went 1-2 with a walk. Shane Greene threw six innings and gave up one run (unearned) on four hits. He did not walk anyone and struck out five. Cesar Cabral threw 1.2 scoreless innings, allowing a pair of hits, a walk and two Ks. Taylor Garrison went 1.1 and did not allow a hit, striking out three.

Charleston lost to Savannah 5-2:
After three scoreless innings, the Sand Gnats drew first blood in the fourth. A single by Kevin Plawecki gave Savannah a base runner and he moved to third on a double by Stefan Sabol. Cole Frenzel lined a single to center, plating Plawecki, while Jake Cave threw out Sabol at the plate. Some sloppy baseball gave Savannah a bigger lead in the fifth. Back-to-back singles by Jeff Reynolds and Phillip Evans gave Savannah a pair of runners with no outs. Yucary De La Cruz laid down a sac bunt, but a throwing error by Cesar Vargas allowed both runners to score, putting Charleston down 3-0. Frenzel hit a solo homer in the sixth and Eudy Pina scored after tripling to right, giving the RiverDogs a five-run hole to climb out. Dante Bichette started the rally in the ninth, singling to center. Reymond Nunez hit a one out double and Kelvin De Leon singled in Bichette and Nunez. Unfortunately, Wes Wilson and Fu-Lin Kuo both struck out, ending the RiverDogs’ threat as they took the 5-2 loss.

Bichette went 2-3 with a run scored and a walk, getting his average up to .200 for the season. De Leon went 2-4 with a pair of RBIs. Nunez and Kuo each had a hit for Charleston, while the rest of the lineup went hitless. Vargas went five innings, giving up three runs (one earned – after his own error) on six hits, a walk and two Ks. Adam Smith went two and gave up two runs on two hits and a strike out. Brett Gerritse pitched a scoreless inning, striking out one.

Tamar has written for IIATMS since July 2009, having started off writing game recaps before shifting to the minor leagues. Born in Connecticut and having lived all over the country and in South Korea, Tamar now finds herself "temporarily misplaced" in New Hampshire. Please send help - I can pay you in maple syrup.